Bengal

Bengal ( ben-GAWL) is a geographical, ethnolinguistic, historically geopolitical region in South Asia north of the Bay of Bengal. It is politically divided between the sovereign state of Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and Karimganj district in the Indian state of Assam. The ancient Vanga Kingdom is widely regarded as the namesake of the Bengal region. The Bengali calendar dates to the reign of Shashanka in the 7th century CE. The Pala Empire was founded in Bengal during the 8th century. The Sena dynasty and Deva dynasty ruled between the 11th and 13th centuries. By the 14th century, Bengal was absorbed by Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent. An independent Bengal Sultanate was formed and became the eastern frontier of the Islamic world. During this period, Bengal's rule and influence spread to Assam, Arakan, Tripura, Bihar, and Odisha (formerly Orissa). Bengal Subah later emerged as a prosperous part of the Mughal Empire. The last independent Nawab of Bengal was defeated in 1757 by the East India Company at the Battle of Plassey. The company's Bengal Presidency grew into the largest administrative unit of British India, with Calcutta as the capital of both Bengal and India until 1911. As a result of the first partition of Bengal, a short-lived province called Eastern Bengal and Assam existed between 1905 and 1911, with its capital in the former Mughal capital Dhaka. After the Sylhet referendum and votes by the Bengal Legislative Council and Bengal Legislative Assembly, the region was again divided along religious lines in 1947. Bengali culture, particularly its literature, music, art and cinema, are well known in South Asia and beyond. The region is also notable for its economic and social scientists, including several Nobel laureates. Once home to the city with the highest per capita income level in...